Rookies

Shorts on a banquet in the south - oops! Might be why we ended up at the kid’s table- ha! 

I almost titled this post “generous,” but that would be misleading……In the end, we had some really rookie travel mistakes this trip. I’m not sure what we can blame it on….. The humidity? The anticipation of our first national tournament? Lack of sleep? Hard to say, but….

• Marshall left his nice clothes for the banquet in the airport hotel in New Orleans (and apparently, no one saw them)……. 
• I left our water bottles in the hotel lobby when I poured my coffee this morning (and didn’t realize it until we were at the airport). 
• We get through security and don’t see our flight on the board only to realize our flight was scheduled two hours later than we thought (and then it was delayed another hour due to weather in Denver). 

The actual “generous” part was giving away our soon to be expired Southwest drink coupons to people flying Southwest today. Here’s to more adventure with fewer rookie moves and many more great memories. 

Saturday at Natty’s

Night cap at “the Station” 

10th place! 

Father and son 

Working for the spirit award

Drizzy! 

The Miami crowd 

The Jean Karlen “coffee mugs” 😂

Way to go son

Holding on

Jumping

Saturday brought D1 women’s trick and men’s jump. I was up at 6:00 to take Drake to his hotel to catch a ride to the lake (and promptly came back and went back to bed for a couple hours). We made a stop at Coffee Call for a coffee and beignets - yum! 

We then enjoyed the day cheering on the skiers and soaking in the sun. Drake was jumper three on the team and had his 2nd best jump of his career. He fought really hard for the landing on his first jump and landed the other two jumps with no problem. Super proud of his efforts this year and how hard he worked. The winning jumper jumped 193 feet (three feet off the collegiate record). 

We freshened up at the hotel, and headed to the banquet. Marshall and I ended up at the kids table with a boat drive, one other Miami parent and six kids from Purdue, but we made the most of it. Miami placed 10th in D1 which ties their best showing (I think). 

We then headed to “The Station” which was rented out for the event to have a drink and check out the experience. Even though we were tired, I’m glad we went - a good reminder to “have a bias to yes!” 

We are proud of Drake for trying something new and glad he is taking in all that college has to offer. We’re also happy to have new experiences - never too old to do new things. ❤️

Natty’s aka The National Tournament

Chargrilled oysters 

A big party

All the teams (D1and D2)

Muffuletta sandwich - we had leftovers for Saturday lunch 

The Miami guys watching women’s jump

Night jumping 

Yup - that’s our son 

Nighttime at the lakes

Marshall and I made the trek down to Zachary, LA for the National Collegiate Water Skiing Association  Championship to cheer on Drake and the Miami RedHawks. Considering the cold weather and winter storm warning in Colorado, it was great to be in the 85+ degree weather for a couple of days. 

We arrived late on Thursday night into New Orleans and stayed at an airport hotel. We departed mid morning and made our way to Zachary to catch the end of the D1men’s slalom and women’s jump. Because we are so new to the sport, it can be hard to appreciate the level of skill of these athletes at times. However, at the highest levels, you can see the strength, agility and precision required to perform. 

Friday was our best “food day” here - we stopped for a muffuletta sandwich at an Italian deli after the skiing day was done and took Drake out to dinner at Parrain’s seafood restaurant and then went back to the lake for Friday night “Flight Night” under the lights. Drake came back with us and stayed in our room to get a better night sleep before his jump day on Saturday. A good first day taking in our first experience at Natty’s. 

Once a Month

About once a month, customer success team members will meet up at a coworking space near downtown Denver. Most of them bike or scooter or walk depending on which location we choose. The app we use allows us to choose from a variety of locations and it has been fun to explore different areas of Denver. 

We usually go to lunch and also grab a drink somewhere close after we wrap up the day. The team is much smaller now given our downsizing (but it is nice to have face time and spend time together). And, a once a month commute isn’t bad at all. 

The gang at Greensource in Rhino

Back home with my fall “office” decor 

Bug-a-Boo

Tanner and I spent four hours volunteering at the Butterfly Pavilion supporting their Bug-a-Boo event. We staffed tables to hand out candy to the visitors. We leaned a bit more about the organization….

The Butterfly Pavilion is the first stand-alone, Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited non-profit invertebrate zoo in the world and a leader in invertebrate knowledge, inspiration and connection.

Tanner informed me he likes the volunteering where we are helping people more which is nice to hear, but happy to support a new organization and found hours on a weekend. 

We also spent the afternoon playing disc golf together on a gorgeous day. It was the busiest I have Serena disc golf course and Tanner and I both played pretty well which was fun. 

I wrapped up the day watching the Huskers football team on record and watching Husker Volleyball team defeat #1 Wisconsin. 

Academic Letter

Monarch celebrated their academic letter winners with a nice ceremony on Wednesday morning. There was singing by the a cappella group (really good!), a speaker from channel 4 news and recognition of the kids. Tanner enjoyed the cupcakes and we took advantage of the photo opportunities. Super proud of Tanner’s hard work and glad he can be recognized for it. 

Fall Colors and Summer Weather

The best coworker 

Gorgeous sky tonight 

Still blooming 

The dads (Marshall in the chair) under an amazing sky

A much too warm day for mid-October, but it meant a beautiful day to work outside and attend the last home soccer game of the season - and take in a breathtaking sunset.